Friends skipping (jumping rope) in New York City, circa 1976 by Jill Freedman

Childhood is a special time in any individual’s life, there are countless precious moments that are extremely mundane but nonetheless valuable. Growing up the most memorable moments happened when I played outside with my friends until the street lights came on. In Jill Freedman’s photo “Friends Skipping (Jumping Rope) in New York City” you can see how simple and normal the situation is, but you are drawn to it because of how similar the situation is to your own memories as a child.

In Roland Barthes book “Camera Lucida” he explores what photography exactly is, but after he cannot find the answer he begins to examine why he is drawn to certain images. By the end of the book, he discovers many things about photography, like its ability to create death and the reasons why some works resonate with him more than others. He coins the terms studium and punctum; the studium is the aspect of the photo that initially gets your attention, but the punctum is the part of the photo that pierces you and leaves an impression which allows the viewer to actually feel.

The studium of the “Friends Skipping (Jumping Rope) …” image is the simple action of two children jumping rope. But the part that struck me the most was how serious the faces of the girls playing are. Instead of laughing, they have a straight face. I can imagine how determined the two girls are to win; making sure they do not lose their breath or trip over the rope itself. Another aspect that catches my attention is the presence and stance of the little girl in the back waiting her turn to play. I wonder how long she’s been waiting, because her facial expression does not seem pleased.

Barthes said photograph also brings death because photography has the implied message that this moment has already happened and can never happen again. Although Barthes is right in the sense that photograph shows only the past, I also believe that photography is able to make moments live forever. These three girls will forever be alive in that moment, playing rope with their friends.